Do student perceptions of teaching predict the development of representational competence and biological knowledge?

Nitz, Sandra; Ainsworth, Shaaron; Nerdel, Claudia; Prechtl, Helmut

doi:10.1016/j.learninstruc.2013.12.003

Cited by 60 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…On the other hand, representing science concepts or events requires not only general representational skills but also knowledge of the topic to be drawn (Hinze et al., ; Nitz et al., ) and knowledge of the purposes and limitations of certain representations (diSessa, ; diSessa & Sherin, ). These perspectives indicate the existence of domain‐specific aspects of representational competence relating to knowledge of specific content and the nature of representations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Students’ representational competence with drawing technology across two domains of science

Chang

2018

Science Education

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Research has indicated the importance of representational competence for learning science. Issues related to the nature of students’ representational competence, such as how they demonstrate representational competence across different domains of science, require investigation. In the present study, four aspects of representational competence across two domains of science were investigated: use of dynamic representations, use of multiple representations, use of adequate science concepts, and use of visualization strategies. Two instruments, the representational competence of states of matter and the representational competence of carbon cycling assessments were delivered via a computer‐based drawing tool and were used to measure 40 senior high school students’ representational competence for the topic of states of matter and carbon cycling. The results indicated that the representational competence demonstrated in one topic was not significantly correlated to that demonstrated in the other. The results of path analyses using multiple regressions indicated a trend that the extent to which multiple representations were employed was significantly and closely related to the extent to which appropriate science concepts were applied to make the drawings. Implications of the findings are discussed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nitz et al. () surveyed 931 students to investigate the relationship between content knowledge of photosynthesis and representational competence (specifically in transforming representations) of photosynthesis. They found a positive significant relationship between the two.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Students’ representational competence with drawing technology across two domains of science

Chang

2018

Science Education

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“…Thirdly, the attitude towards and perception of the task has been demonstrated to influence learning outcomes. Learners in a science course only showed significant improvement in representative thinking if they perceived the lessons as being beneficial for this competence (Nitz et al 2014). Moreover, learners reached higher scores in a standardized test if their attitude towards the preparatory learning experience was positive (Sankaran et al 2000).…”

Section: Perceived Quality Of the Learning Experience And Resulting Cmentioning

confidence: 99%

“What I learn is what I like.” How do students in ICT-supported problem-based learning rate the quality of the learning experience, and how does it relate to the acquisition of competences?

Scholkmann

2017

Educ Inf Technol

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“…Representational competence, comprising the abilities to understand and interpret a representation, to analyze its features (e.g., Kozma & Russell, 2005;Nitz et al, 2014) and to (mentally) engage with representations, is essential for scientific literacy (Gilbert & Treagust, 2009). Especially, representations of molecular and chemical structures and processes are necessary, inter alia, for the understanding of relationships between structures and systems (Cooper et al, 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…modeling; Passmore, Gouvea, & Giere, ; Krell, Walzer, Hergert, & Krüger, ). The abilities to understand and interpret a given representation, to use a given representation to describe the target and to identify and analyze features of a given representation are also seen as parts of students' representational competence (e.g., Kozma & Russell, ; Nitz et al, ). To understand a given representation, students need to have conceptual knowledge relevant to the representation and to make sense of its constituent symbols, signs, codes, etc.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Students' mental load, stress, and performance when working with symbolic or symbolic–textual molecular representations

et al. 2018

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In science education, representations are necessary inter alia for the understanding of relationships between structures and systems. However, several studies have identified difficulties of students when working with representations. In the present study, we investigated students' responses (regarding their preference, test performance, mental load (ML), and stress) toward two kinds of representations: symbolic representations, which only use abstract symbols, versus combined symbolic–textual representations, which additionally comprise textual elements. Therefore, students were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups: one group worked on test tasks accompanied by symbolic representations, and the others worked on the same tasks, but with symbolic–textual representations. Thereafter, the students' test performance and ML were assessed. The level of perceived stress and the salivary cortisol concentration were measured before and after the test and again a few minutes later. Additionally, heart rate variability parameters were assessed continuously. We found a strong preference of the test version with symbolic representations. Additionally, the students showed better test performance and lower ML when they worked with symbolic representations. However, the level of perceived stress was comparable between both groups and there was no strong physiological stress response: The cortisol concentration decreased in both groups and the heart rate was relatively similar. However, during the second half of the test, we observed a significantly higher ratio between low and high heartbeat frequencies in the group with symbolic–textual representations and we found an indirect influence of the kind of representation on test performance through its effect on ML. The poorer test performance and higher ML in connection with symbolic–textual representations confirm previous studies, which found that symbolic–textual representations pose major problems for students. Thus, teachers should enable students to understand symbolic–textual representations and consider carefully whether they can use symbolic representations instead, especially when they teach complex content.

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Do student perceptions of teaching predict the development of representational competence and biological knowledge?

Cited by 60 publications

References 40 publications

Students’ representational competence with drawing technology across two domains of science

Students’ representational competence with drawing technology across two domains of science

“What I learn is what I like.” How do students in ICT-supported problem-based learning rate the quality of the learning experience, and how does it relate to the acquisition of competences?

Students' mental load, stress, and performance when working with symbolic or symbolic–textual molecular representations

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